Early warning systems have been around for a long time. Ancient tribes in the Pacific observed the precursory signs of tsunamis in the ocean to warn their communities. In a similar fashion, tribes in Africa and in the Americas watched the skies to warn about potentially catastrophic weather.
Held on 13 and 14 May in Geneva, the Second Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference (MHEWC-II) called for further strengthening of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) as part of disaster risk reduction efforts worldwide.
A new mobile phone application provides early warning and early action information related to the Citarum River Basin in Indonesia. FEWEAS Citarum can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS phones and is expected to help the authorities with the mitigation and disaster risk reduction around the area of the Citarum River Basin in Indonesia.
The issue of early warning systems in case of extreme weather events is currently being discussed at the 69th Session of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Executive Council in Geneva, which will run till 17 May.
Kenya’s president has declared the worsening drought in the country a national disaster.
According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) the drought has been worsening in most Kenyan counties, now affecting nearly half the country. Forage conditions are drier than usual because of lower than usual rainfall conditions and also the extended dry period between the short and long rains in 2016. The number of people in need of food has risen from 1.3 million to 2.7 million last year.
UN-SPIDER published a new recommended practice in its Knowledge Portal outlining detailed step-by-step procedures to support drought monitoring. The practice was developed by researchers from the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil (UFSM). The procedure has been used to elaborate drought-related maps for Brazil in recent years.
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The AGU Fall Meeting is the largest worldwide conference in the geophysical sciences, attracting more than 22,000 Earth and space scientists, educators, students, and other leaders from around the world to connect with colleagues, broaden their knowledge base, and embrace the joy of science.
Florida Institute of Technology, NASA Langley Research Center, Georgia Tech, Winthrop University, Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Delaware, USDA, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Montana, City College of New York.
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